These unusual tropical fish look like pine cones. Each has two light-emitting organs in its mouth, used to attract prey. Wit their powerful jaws, they crack open the hard shells of crabs and shrimps.

Floating Christmas Tree Decorations

At a quick glance pine cones seem to have fallen into the pool. But the content of the Subtropical Aquarium in St Catherine's Monastery is not the result of carelessness by the keepers. Because the "cones" can swim and – precisely because of their unusual appearance – are named Japanese pinecone fish. They are quite rare in display aquaria and are a first for the German Oceanographic Museum.

A total of eight of these peculiar fish live in the warm tropical aquarium at the MEERESMUSEUM. They are residents of the twilight zone of the sea. Therefore, the lighting is set to be more subdued than in neighbouring tanks, so that they can also be admired by visitors in daytime. The oval fish with the hard and clearly visible scale armour regularly search for the right feed, unless they are sleeping in their caves. A special feature is, however, rarely seen and usually only at night. In its inner mandible the pinecone fish have two light organs, with which they attract food animals in the wild.

In the MEERESMUSEUM these beauties, which are members of the ray-finned fishes (acanthopterygii) have grown accustomed to their diet of frozen shrimp. They sometimes even eat out of the aquarists' hands, which means that the keepers have to be wary of their powerful chewing organs. They need these to break up crunchy shrimp and crabs, which are attracted by the curious luminous points in the surprisingly large mouth.